Pabst Blue Ribbon and Oasis Wine

Celeste

A few cold and rainy, Friday nights ago, Chef Patrick Morrow, Chris Coker, Steve Ward and a few others, hosted an awesome dinner party, in the old Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewing Co building, on south Charles Street.

Just what I needed….an unpretentious and discreet wine dinner in a rustic atmosphere; serving delicious local meats, from the spit, Pabst Blue Ribbon and the finest Argentinean malbecs in the world….now that’s what I’m talking about.

For years, I have looked at and wondered what was behind those doors.Well I finally had a chance to find out.

Before the party, I wasn’t sure what to expect or what the dress code was, but after a few calls to Chris, I was well prepared for a casual and fun barbeque with some of the finest wines, from Oasis wines and Patrick Morrow on the "pit".The Argentinean malbecs, that lined the tables, were definitely alluring; but so was the Pabst they were serving.I was in the mood for a beer, so I stuck with it.Who would have ever thought there would be tables FULL of fine red wine and I opt for the Pabst?ha!

I wandered around the room with the cold Pabst and couldn’t help but wonder how the production was done, in the 1800’s. Later, I looked it up, but didn’t find much online about this particular building.There is much more info about the location on Gay Street; I hear they really only distributed the beer, out of this Charles St location.It was hard to imagine and I was not being sociable, so out to the main room, to rally up my peeps and try this awesome food we anticipated.

Outside, on the spit, the main plates included a roasted whole lamb, from Piedmont Ridge Farm, in Norrisville, MD, Prime Rib, Kansas City strip loin and filet~ probably the best I have ever had!The cold rain didn’t stop Steve Ward from doing a fabulous job of turning the meats and making sure they were cooked and ready to serve.They were offered with wonderful little sauces that perked up the whole plate-chimichurri, mint pesto and Peruvian green chile sauce.The side dishes were enough to keep you coming back too; smoked Cole slaw and roasted potatoes.I was in heaven.

Patrick Morrow is the former chef of Ryleigh’s Oyster, in Federal Hill.He has since left and will be opening a new restaurant, Bluegrass, also in Federal Hill, sometime in mid-January.He will be offering some of the same menu items mentioned; getting these items from local farms and purveyors. If this was a sampling of what he will have at Bluegrass, I am very excited to see his new place and taste some more.

He will be using space at the old PBR building, to host some of the same types of dinner parties.Check our events section for future gatherings